Few things are harder than growing a business.
On the one hand, you’re trying to scale your processes, bring in new talent and serve your customers in more sustainable ways.
On the other, you’re trying to hang on to the agility and culture that made your small business so special in the first place. It’s a tough balance to find.
The thing is, there’s never been a better time to be a growing business. The rise of cloud-based tech (technology managed or accessed over the internet) has changed the game.
The cloud has made it incredibly easy for growing businesses to tap into powerful, ultra-secure technology that only the biggest businesses traditionally had access to.
What’s more, this tech is more affordable and easy-to-use than ever before.
Growing businesses can now use the cloud to collaborate more effectively, work with remote talent, and accelerate their projects.
In this post, we’ll run through six benefits of following a well-planned cloud roadmap, plus we’ll walk through how you can get started on your cloud journey.
Whether you’re new to the cloud or are partially using the cloud, we have you covered here.
Six Benefits of the Cloud
With the right cloud roadmap, you will enjoy less IT baggage and more IT firepower. When that happens, a lot of great things become possible, including:
1. Lower costs
The cloud eliminates the need for a huge capital expenditure (CapEx) and can help you save on licensing fees. Best of all, pay-as-you-go pricing means that you only spend on what you use.
With this type of elasticity, your company will have the ability to scale up as computing needs increase and easily scale down if they decrease.
Cloud computing enables growing businesses to decrease the need for physical space, power usage, IT resources and more. This is a valuable way of saving resources, so you can concentrate on growth.
You can read about 5 financial benefits of cloud computing here
2. Tighter security
Cloud providers can deliver a level of security that no small or medium-sized business operating alone can match. From full encryption and firewalls, to automatic patches and upgrades – the cloud means small businesses stay secure.
RapidScale concluded that 94 percent of businesses saw an improvement in security after switching to the cloud, and 91 percent claim the cloud makes it easier to meet government compliance requirements.
3. Less admin
Cloud solutions are easy to implement and deploy, and ongoing maintenance and management is handled by your provider. This means your IT team can focus on more important matters.
4. Greater agility
Since the cloud works on a pay-as-you-go basis, it’s easier to scale your solution up and down, on demand. Cloud contracts are also more flexible than hardware contracts, so you don’t have to worry about being tied to one solution for an extended period of time.
5. Easier mobility
With everything in the cloud, data, apps and even entire desktops are always available to your team on any device – whether they’re working in the office or on the road.
Tablets, laptops, and smartphones will be able to access and share important files with ease. Also, files and business applications will no longer be stored in one computer, which enables faster operations, availability, and personal productivity.
6. Faster growth
A major advantage of the cloud is that it has enabled small and mid-sized companies to compete as equals with enterprise companies. The cloud’s cost-saving nature gives smaller companies the ability to access software and systems that would have been too expensive in the past.
Dell noted that companies who invest in technology enjoy up to 53 percent faster revenue growth than their competitors. The cloud gives small to mid-sized businesses a fighting chance against the big guys, and a competitive advantage over companies that aren’t moving to the cloud.
Planning your cloud journey
While the benefits of the cloud are well-established, it pays to think about how you’re going to embrace them.
Too often, growing businesses take an ad-hoc approach to technology, buying solutions as needs arise, without really thinking about a broader roadmap.
In fact, a lot of growing businesses don’t even realize they’re already using the cloud (if you’re using Gmail, you’re using the cloud).
A more strategic approach means you can identify what you’re missing and plan your way to better collaboration, easier remote working and more efficient processes.
We’ve developed a guide to help you think about what’s possible in the cloud and what the right roadmap will look like.
Whether you’re new to the cloud, or an ‘as-a-service’ expert, it will help you make the most of your cloud-based infrastructure and accelerate your progress.
Learn More About Matt
Matt Rosenthal is CEO and President of Mindcore, a full-service tech firm. He is a leader in the field of cyber security, designing and implementing highly secure systems to protect clients from cyber threats and data breaches. He is an expert in cloud solutions, helping businesses to scale and improve efficiency.
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